Mydd’s (and BlogPac’s) Chris Bowers announced yesterday that he wants to dedicate time specifically toward looking for more local blogs to support in the lead-up to the 2008 campaign. He therefore encouraged local bloggers to personally contact him.
According to Bowers, there is a total market failure for local news in the US, caused in large part by corporate media consolidation.

"Local newspapers are laying off staff and relying more heavily than ever on news wires. Most alternative local weeklies have either shut down, or been purchased by larger media conglomerates. "Local" TV stations, such as those owned by Sinclair, have much of their content produced from a single, centralized news studio. Local voices are being shut down, which invariably means that progressive voices are being shut down as well".

"Fortunately, local progressive blogging is filling this void in states and cities around the nation. However, even as local bloggers help to revitalize local and progressive media nationwide, and even as they help build local progressive, activist communities, they receive virtually no compensation for doing so," Bowers writes.

Bowers therefore wants (through BlogPac) to bring community blogging to every state by covering costs of domain names and necessary software for local bloggers (one year of hosting, ie. $180, will be the standard amount).

We write about advertising, technology, public relations, social media, video games, marketing and pretty much whatever we feel is important. We've been around since August, 2006. Right now, It's mostly written by Parker Mason.